Ramblings from around the globe

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Paris, France…a cold and wintery city of lights. I stumbled upon a cool and also delicious restaurant in the 11th Arrondissement near Republique! A former Pharmacy converted to a restaurant with amazing food, low key vibe, cute servers, and reasonable prices….

A delicious steak with the finest sliced and roasted potatoes! Oh, Paris always delivers on gourmet but this new find makes it really hip too.

Chicago, IL…Gene & Jude’s is a popular and iconic hot dog stand on River Road in River Grove, Illinois, founded in 1946 by friends and Chicago city workers Gene Mormino and Jude DeSantis. The stand is famous for its narrow approach to the Chicago-style hot dog, its toppings departing from tradition by including only mustard, onions, relish, sport peppers and fresh cut French fries placed on top, known as a Depression Dog. The menu is limited to hot dogs, double dogs, tamales and fries, and, typical of Chicago hot dog, lacks any trace of ketchup.

In 2006, Gene’s & Jude’s was inducted into the Vienna Beef Hot Dog Hall of Fame. In 2011, in a competition of 64 hot dog stands across the country, it was chosen by the magazine “Every Day with Rachel Ray” and the food blog Serious Eats as the best hot dog in America.

I grew up with these infamous dogs close to my home in Elmwood Park and always need to get my “fix” when in Chicago!

New York City…it’s getting colder as Christmas approaches and I re-birthed an old favorite of mine! Years ago, I started “Full Needle”…a collection of colorful luxury hand knit cashmere booties!

They were an instant hit and I counted Oprah amongst one of the many devotees of these perfect cozy booties to snuggle by the fire in! I had knitters making hundreds for Oprah to send to her celebrity friends!

When another friend opened a cool store in Springfield, Missouri named Shipley and Salvage, a lightbulb went off and I thought it was a perfect opportunity to relaunch Full Needle just in time for the holidays!

These booties remind me of my childhood and were inspired by the acrylic ones my mother used to hand knit for me as a kid! Now they have matured into true luxury in thick sumptuous cashmere!

New York City…I have travelled the world, but I am a proud American…Getting home to vote was important to me!

I didn’t want an absentee ballot…I wanted to be part of the history of this day…electing the next president of the USA!

Some countries don’t have this right and I value that I can voice my position through my vote!

The lines were crazy long! Over an hour and then once inside it was chaos! It is hard to believe in this time of technology that voting is such a pre- historic process! Manual ballots, printed books, and clueless volunteers are embarrassing for a country as advanced as ours! But what matters is that I exercised my ability and right to vote!
I was happy to see so many of my fellow NY’ers braving the long waits to do the same!

I have experienced a world of cultures and I know our democracy is a great thing to celebrate and respect!

One of my saving graces and best investments was my unlocked IPhone I picked up in Hong Kong used! This unlocked phone allowed me to buy prepaid SIM cards in each country so I could always be connected and utilize lifesaving travel apps and tools like GPS as I walked around unknown cities! Doing this also saved me thousands of dollars in roaming charges that Verizon or AT&T charge travelers!

Jet lag has taken hold, but I still adjusting to being back home…Where to next??